The US Ambassador to Kosovo Greg Delawie welcomed today’s meeting between President Atifete Jahjaga and political party leaders. In a Twitter post, Delawie said he was looking forward to the next meeting.
Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli hailed the meeting today between President Atifete Jahjaga and political leaders as a positive step stressing that dialogue is the only way for overcoming the current situation. Veseli commended Jahjaga on her initiative to gather the leaders and encouraged her to continue facilitating the dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties. “Institutional dialogue is the only way our country can move forward,” he said.
Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), walked out of the meeting of political leaders called by Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and attended by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Principal Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Haradinaj told reporters that he had requested the dissolution of the Parliament and new parliamentary elections. Haradinaj also said that another request of the opposition bloc is for the President of Kosovo to be elected directly by the people.
Pristina-based Lajmi news site reports that Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli decided not to attend the meeting of political leaders called by President Atifete Jahjaga because he did not want the meeting to fail. Unnamed sources told the news site that it was Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), who said that Veseli should not attend the meeting.
The front page of the paper says that new elections in Kosovo are unavoidable because “all the other alternatives to overcome the political crisis, created since the establishment of an insatiable government of elephants, and later the signing of the anti-constitutional agreements, have been exhausted.” Kosova Sot further notes that based on the Constitution, the power to dissolve the Assembly and announce the date for new elections belongs to the President.
Kosovo’s President of the Assembly, Kadri Veseli, appealed to the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, to call the parties in order to find a solution for the political crisis. “Jahjaga will not be in a bad position after the end of her mandate, she will gain many benefits. It is necessary to find a political solution to overcome these challenges and to orient the country towards economic development.
As her mandate as President Kosovo comes to an end, Atifete Jahjaga, according to sources from her office, is expected to be appointed Kosovo ambassador to one of the countries Kosovo enjoys good relations with. The news website ora.info reported that Jahjaga discussed the matter with Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci and received their support. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is set to open an embassy in Doha where Jahjaga will be named ambassador,” the source said.
Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga received Maltese Foreign Minister George Vella today, with whom she discussed the latest developments in Kosovo, as well as the processes related to meeting the criteria for visa liberalization and the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union. Jahajga and Vella also discussed the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Jahjaga stressed the importance of implementing the agreements reached in this process and urged that implementation of these agreements is a precondition for Serbia's EU membership.
Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga said today that the political parties in Kosovo must overcome the current crisis through dialogue alone. According the President, violence and vandalism are not solutions. "It is very important that the leaders of political parties start a dialogue as soon as possible in order to find solutions. I have been very active over the past two months and took two actions to contribute to solving the crisis.
Halil Matoshi writes today that quarrels and aggressive discourse against the opposition cannot overcome the situation “of the small and clashed country” as referred to Kosovo in the western media. He considers that the solution stands in an offer for a political, unconditioned discussion, which would not exclude early elections.